Social media is drastically changing the marketing industry. Today, more and more businesses are leveraging social data to promote their products and services more effectively.

On April 6, Sawyer Business School’s Department of Marketing is hosting the second annual social media conference to discuss emerging career opportunities in social media. This year’s event, Bridging the Gap: Careers in Digital Media, is free and open to Suffolk students, faculty, and alumni, as well as business professionals. The event will be held at Suffolk University, Sargent Hall, in the First Floor Function Room from 8:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

Keynote speaker Dave Wieneke (@UsefulArts), who leads the digital business practice at ISITE Design, is among the several industry leaders who will present at the conference. Christian Sann (@csann), director of Boston for SCVNGR's LevelUp Program, and Eric Leist (@EricLeist), emerging technology strategist at Allen & Gerritsen, will also provide insight on the developing field and offer useful tools for Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, SEO, and more.

A panel discussion will feature Peter Stringer (@peterstringer) director of Interactive Media for the Boston Celtics; Tina Mello (@CareerCoachTina), a college career counselor who was listed among Youtern.com’s Top-100 Twitter Accounts Job Seekers MUST Follow: 2012; Andy Komack (@akomack), vice president of Marketing at Bluetrain Mobile; and George Milne (@GRMilne), a marketing professor who specializes in marketing research and Internet marketing.

After the conference, attendees are invited to an informal networking reception.

For more information, follow the Department of Marketing on Twitter (@SuffolkMKT) and use the hashtag #btg12.